Apple’s smartwatch may be able to detect and interpret hand movements.
Apple just dropped a new patent regarding a feature that could appear on a next generation of Apple Watch. The functionality in question is the possibility for the wearer to interact with his watch without touching the screen thereof. The Apple Watch would be able to detect the movements of the wearer’s hand and perform actions corresponding to the movements.
To achieve this, the watch would be equipped with new sensors that would allow it to monitor the wrist veins and therefore be able to follow the movements of the hand.
Right now, Apple’s watch is already able to respond to a defined movement. The Apple Watch turns on its dial when the wearer turns his wrist. If the Californian firm wants to multiply the number of movements taken into account by its connected watches, it will have to manage to make the software differentiate between voluntary movements and lambda gestures. An exercise that should not be easy as we use our hands every day.
The system imagined by Apple would “photograph” certain veins on the wrist. He would be able to monitor the position of the vessels, relative spacing, shape, displacement, as well as blood flow. By studying these variations, the watch software would be able to determine which gestures are “addressed” to it.
The new types of sensors would be placed under the case, but also on the bracelet, in order to have an overview of the veins. The patent also refers to an AR / VR use of this functionality, without specifying in which context exactly. It could also be an argument for accessibility for people with reduced mobility or otherwise.
It will certainly take a few years to see a watch equipped with this feature. Furthermore, there is no guarantee that Apple can introduce such a system to its watches. The concept could never leave the laboratories of the American firm. However, health has been an area of particular interest to Apple for several years.
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